It is not permissible for the Hungarian people to pay the price of the war, which is why the Hungarian government is asking for further negotiations if it sees that the latest EU sanction proposals threaten Hungary's energy supply, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Kossuth Radio on Sunday.
Péter Szijjártó emphasized in the Sunday newspaper program that Hungary considers it important to maintain European unity, and has always been a part of joint European decisions, but at the same time, in his opinion, a hasty decision should not be made, calmness, composure, and consideration are needed.
The head of the ministry emphasized that the unity of Europe cannot be established in the presence of sanctions measures that would endanger the energy supply.
Hungary did well to "make its red lines clear", many countries take the position that sanction measures cannot endanger the energy supply, he said.
Péter Szijjártó reminded that the European Commission came up with a new package of sanctions proposals on Saturday, now the sixth.
He pointed out that, after receiving this, the Hungarian government stated that they consider it impossible to comment on the motion until that afternoon, as they believe it should be subjected to a deeper analysis.
The minister said that the Council of Permanent Representatives was convened in Brussels on Sunday afternoon with the possibility that a decision on the new sanctions could be made there, but Péter Szijjártó is not sure that this can happen there.
He announced that they will jointly analyze the package with the MVM, Moll, and the Ministry of Innovation and Technology (ITM), which will only be supported if they do not threaten the security of the Hungarian energy supply.
Although the introductory part of the sanction proposal makes it clear that it does not apply to natural gas and crude oil deliveries, as well as the nuclear industry, it is worth examining the details as well - explained Péter Szijjártó, adding that among the current sanction proposals there is a point that affects Russia's energy management would prohibit the export of technologies and products.
In addition, there is a restriction on the import of iron and steel industry products in the proposal, as well as additional financial restrictions in addition to the listing of new persons, the head of the ministry added.
Péter Szijjártó underlined that in recent days the acts of war in Ukraine have become more and more serious, where many thousands die every day, the destruction is enormous. This highlights even more the government's responsibility to guarantee that Hungary will not be drawn into this war in any way, he stated.
"We have to guarantee the security of Hungary and the Hungarian people, which is why we decided not to send soldiers or weapons to this war," said the minister.
Péter Szijjártó said that they also made a clear decision that they would not allow arms shipments to be transported through Hungary to the territory of Ukraine.
"Without these decisions, Hungary would risk getting involved in the war," concluded the head of the ministry. The minister called it good news that the European Union is also joining the cease-fire negotiations, and noted that serious European efforts have been made for peace.
Péter Szijjártó responded to the question about those responsible for the outbreak of the war and said, "now is the time to create peace, the time to reason and analyze previous measures will come when there is peace in the neighborhood."
Source and full article: Magyar Hírlap
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